Perfect Honeymoon
My wife and I were getting married in January 2020 and we knew we wanted to take our honeymoon in South East Asia. In typically fashion, I had procrastinated the trip planning and only first stated looking into every in mid November 2019. I first came across Exotic Voyages (EV) through a simple google search. It was literally one of the best things I could have done. From the first communication with EV, everything was super simple. We were contacted by travel designer Lucy (Thu Hang). She was fanstastic. We were interested in one of the pre-packages trips "Paradise Unotuched" in Thailand with a few modifications. Lucy was super attentive to our wishes and seamlessly made the changes we wanted. Within a few days the entire trip, including international flights, was taken care of and all we needed to do was send payment.
Now to the trip/honeymoon itself. Everything was planned PERFECTLY. Every flight, tour/excursion, transportation was perfectly planned out. We had some issues with out first flight being delayed, which caused us to miss our layover. I emailed Lucy to advise her and she was immediately responsive and relayed the information to the individuals who were meeting us when we arrived in Thailand. We landed in Bangkok and were immediately greeted by an individual with a sign with our names, who then walked us through fast tracked customs (it took 5 minutes!). We were then escorted outside to an english speaking guide and driver ready to take us to our hotel. This is how the entire trip went. Every step of the way we had an english speaking guide and driver waiting for us. All we needed to do was walk down to the hotel lobby at the time provides to us and there was someone waiting for us.
The accomadations Lucy picked for us were fantastic. We stayed at Hotel Muse in Bangkok, Na Nirand in Chiang Mai, Koyao Island Resort in Ko Yao Noi, and Sri Panwa in Phuket. Each hotel was fanstisic and very different from each other. We had four completely different types of experiences. Mark, the EV regional manager personally came to our hotel in Bangkok to drop off a beautiful gift from EV. Bangkok was very cityish, Chiang Mai was classy and full of Thai traditions, Ko Yao was rustic and beautiful (we stayed in a tent villa with a fanstic view!) and Phuket was more modern and beach resort like. Each one was better than the next.
As for the tours/excursions Lucy planned - hands down made the trip. Again, each one showed a little bit different side of Thailand. We toured Bangkok on Tuk Tuks and saw night markets and street vendors. We went to various temples in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, including a private blessing from a Monk. In Ko Yao we had a private candle lit dinner arrange by the beach. And in Phuket we took a kayak tour in, around, and through the various islands and caves. Every aspect was priceless.
Every guide/driver we met was so so so nice. They were all super knowledgeable about the areas we were headed and provides so much insight in the land and culture of Thailand, which really made the trip and provide us with such an appreciation for the country. And throughout the two weeks we were there, Lucy periodically checked in on us to make sure everything was going well (which it absolutely was).
The ONLY downside, which is at no fault of anyone, was the fact that to travel from NY to Thailand, we were on flights for 20+ each way. But it was unequivocally worth every second on those flights for the experience we had in Thailand.
We cannot thank EV and Lucy enough for putting together a picture-perfect honeymoon. It was such an amazing way to celebrate our new marriage and it was an experience will NEVER forget. The trip felt so personal and EV and Lucy treated us with such great service and sincerely wanted us to enjoy our time. We hope to travel to South East Asia again in the future and when we do EV will be our first call.
I cannot recommend them enough!